Thursday, September 6th

Weekend What’s What: 9/6-9/9

by staff

This weekend, the Walker kicks off its fall season with the opening of its latest exhibit, “The Living Years: Live After 1989” and its annual garden party soiree, “Avant Garden.” Elsewhere, we celebrate the Minnesota version of Fashion’s Night Out, rock out out to Butt Rock, take in art shows from Mark Wojahn at the Rogue Buddha, Kenneth Steinbach at Fox Tax, Amelia Biewald and Jonas Criscoe at Rosalux, and Andy DuCett at the Soap Factory. It’s also a big weekend for outdoor fests, including Kramarczuk’s Kielbasa Fest, the Summit Backyard Bash, and the Rock for Democracy block party, not to mention a not-to-be-missed indoor music fest, the Totally Gross National Party on Sunday night at Icehouse. So throw on your best garden party dress, get arty, and enjoy the warm fall weather while it lasts!

xo, l’étoile

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH

Fashion’s Night Out

@ Various locations in the Metro Area

5-9 pm / All Ages / FREE

celebrate the country’s ode to fashion right here in Minneapolis and its supporting suburbs on Thursday, September 6. Join downtown Minneapolis independent shops, Galleria, Macy’s, Mall of America, and Neiman Marcus for annual shopping night Fashion’s Night Out. Get beauty tips and tricks, sip drinks and check out Fall designs from your favorite lines at many of the city’s beloved fashion favorites. Highlights include a fall trend fashion show at 6:30 pm and an MNfashion local designer popup shop featuring Emma Berg, Amanda Christine, Danielle Everine, Christopher Straub and George Moskal at Neiman Marcus, plus special offers, complimentary drinks and bites, and a DJ. -Meg Junkermeier

Having so recently encapsulated the art of the 1980s with “This Will Have Been,” the Walker looks ahead to the years that followed that tumultuous decade and on to our own time with “The Living Years,” chronicling art from 1989 through the present. With the cultural awakening that followed the end of the cold war and the ensuing globalization of the art world, the 1990s and beyond were certainly a time of change and uncertainty which allowed for some provocative and unique voices to gain traction. Interestingly, in 1989 the establishment of an endowment aimed at the acquisition of contemporary art allowed the Walker to more intensely focus on developing and deepening their collection of emerging artists. Recognizable figures of the 1990s’ art scene – such as Glenn Ligon, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Kara Walker – were supported and brought to prominence in large part due to the Walker’s patronage. “The Living Years” is imagined as an evolving installation alternating works form the past two decades with and recent acquisitions, encouraging visitors to find new means of interpretation in the collection when considered against the backdrop of the last twenty years. The Walker’s ongoing commitment to showcasing “living” art rather than just collecting work that already figures as canonical is a large part of why the institution remains so vibrant and relevant. This exhibition should further buoy that reputation and act as a great opportunity to view works that the Walker’s curators believe represent an important glimpse at the recent past and our current moment. -Anthony Enright

Love food and art? Join in for Minnesota’s very first poster show combining both Twin Cities artists and local farming, food, and beverage communities. This event will feature limited-edition artwork highlighting producers of our local foodie scene. Posters will be available for purchase – in limited-edition runs of 30 at $40 a pop – and Open Arms of Minnesota will receive a donation for each print sold. So stop by, eat some food, support local artists and a great cause. -Chelsea Streich

For his latest project, ISAM Live, influential Brazilian DJ/producer Amon Tobin stays from his DJ centric electronic shows, to tackles a new, highly ambitious breathtaking live performance which integrates Tobin into an audio and visual presentation of his album, ISAM. As visually spectacular as it is audio-tastic, tonight’s show is primed to feature real-time projection mapping, generative imagery and audio-reactive elements which encapsulates Tobin and the audience in a 3-D, shape-shifting experience. Past ISAM: Live shows have met with rave reviews, heavy anticipation and countless sold-out performances. Definitely not to be missed by electronic fans and those interested in the concept of a surrealist visual narrative. The beautiful “witch house meets R&B” electronic sounds of Brooding Manchester producer Holy Other kicks off the evening. -Juleana Enright

Mears Park, nestled in the middle of downtown St. Paul, is one of our favorite places to see live music. There’s plenty of grass space, terrific sightlines, and an interesting feeling of being surrounded by tall buildings that lends a fantastic backdrop to the park’s ever-shifting array of summer live music. The Concrete and Grass Lowertown Music Festival is a brief, three-day bash with a dizzying array of music of all sorts for folks of all walks of life. Thursday finds the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra rubbing shoulders with the N’Awlins sound of the Jack Brass Band. Friday opens with the string-laden songwriting of Mississippi Peace (who sound like a less despondent Rufus Wainwright), continues through the old-school blues/soul of the Butanes and ends with the avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Dosh (whom we love). Saturday starts with the Copper Street Brass Quintet (brass renditions of popular songs – imagine “Glee” with horns), continues with the Minnesota Opera, the sparklingly morbid electronic sounds of All Eyes, and ends with the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris doing a solo set. Literally, something for everybody. -Jon Hunt

The Icehouse is rapidly becoming a serious contender in the Minneapolis music scene – with the death of the 501 Club and a serious changing-of-the-guard at a couple of the staple venues, Icehouse is stepping up to be one of the best local venues, booking adventurous and strange bills and appealing not just to rock cognoscenti but jazz fans, country fans and god knows what else. Tonight sees the return of the recently-reunited Valet, who rightly became a staple in the early aughts with their sharp, winning indie songwriting that reminded me of a slightly-more-workin’-class Rentals. Meawhile, The Cactus Blossoms are about as pure of country as you could possibly get, and we mean “country,” folks, not the pop garbage currently masquerading as same. This is your grandpa’s Hank Williams/Louvin Brothers stuff, make no mistake, with gorgeous pedal steel, sibling harmonizing, fiddle and shit-tons of astonishing twang. They’re remarkable. -Jon Hunt

A night of dark, heavy guitar rock curated by Modern Radio Records. Both bands are so new there’s nothing online to represent ’em (get Facebook pages, guys!) but I’m told that Old Moon was formerly Strong Bones, feature members of Malachi Constant and Hockey Night, and that they play slow, dark and heavy. Meanwhile, Unhappy Virgin Damage feature ex-members of Charles De Gaulle and Voytek, and sound like “Suicide, Swans and all sorts of dark stuff” (to quote from the Modern Radio page). DJ Son of Norway is Nate Grumdahl of Bombay Sweets and Selby Tigers (and, coincidentally, grew up right down the street from yours truly) and will undoubtedly spin an eclectic array of punk and post-punk stuff for your amusement. Modern Radio never disappoints so even without any kind of preview (seriously, guys – FACEBOOK PAGES), we can wholeheartedly recommend. And hell, it’s free. -Jon Hunt

You know you belt them in the shower, those classic, head-bangin’ ’80s hair metal power ballads. You may even harbor a few heavy duty crushes on the hot dudes that made gender androgyny a rock “it” factor. That’s why tonight is your night to shed the shame and join DJ (and l’étoile contributor) Danielle Morris as she spins “macho hard rock” faves for your fist pumping and sing-a-long pleasure, back after a two-month hiatus. Sip down delish libations conjured up by the good lookin’ Jäger barstaff and drink specials including $5 Jameson and $2.50 Miller High Life Tallboys. Girls rock yer boyz; boyz rock yer girls; girls rock yer girls; boyz rock yer boyz…You get the picture. -Staff

Does the thought of a juicy, grilled sausage make you weak in the knees? If so that means this weekend you should meat in Nordeast for the third annual Kramarczuk’s Kielbasa Festival. And yes, it is a festival dedicated to meat thrown by the longtime Northeast Eastern European deli. Let’s say you aren’t exactly a sausage enthusiast – there will be other types of European street food provided by Kramarczuk’s. We all know a festival isn’t a festival without beverages so be prepared to widen your beer spectrum with brews hailing from all around Europe. Just so it feels like the old country, singers and dancers will be performing polka and other traditional music from dusk to dawn, plus modern music from locals Red Daughters and Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles. Besides dangling the thought of as much meat as you can stuff yourself with, I will leave you with the image of your first beer being free upon entrance. Mmmm kielbasa… -Alexandra Katz

Born a fraternal twin, local filmmaker/multi-disciplinary artist, Mark Wojahn has long been intrigued by concept of alter egos. In his latest solo exhibit, “Shadow Walker,” Wojahn expands on his documentary work and explores the second self antitheis showcasing a series of photo paintings dubbed “Doppelgängers.” Using multiple layers of texture and paint, Wojahn transforms photographs into antiqued images of evil twins. Be afraid; be very afraid. Also showing in the “red room,” aka Rogue Buddha’s Accent Gallery: new darkly carnivaleseque sculptor work by local favorite Michael Thomsen. -Juleana Enright

This extremely jam-packed bill at the Hex is full of extremely fucked-up music. Headliner Kenny Millions is really more of a
performance artist than a musician – his stuff is basically dissonant squawking noise played (simultaneously) on a guitar and a saxophone. It is, nominally, jazz, though even John Zorn at his most messed-up would call this guy “super messed-up and not really jazz.” His stage act, though – well, it’s messed up too. You need to see it for yourself. Cock ESP are basically a noise band, too, playing with the thresholds of human ability to tolerate vast quantities of distortion. Cognitive Dissonance play old-school punk doom metal – eh, you’ve heard it before, but it still sounds fantastic. Brain Tumors – punk as fuck. Fast as fuck. Old school destructo stuff. Minute long songs. And Tips for Twat are super lo-fi post-punk with shouty vocals. It’s all kinda ugly, the whole night, but in a really good way. I know that sounds weird, but seriously. -Jon Hunt

Funk at the Fred, the University of Minnesota’s Student Union’s annual back-to-school fest at the Weisman Art Museum, has been rechristened WAM-O-RAMA, but the idea is the same: a free show of live music to welcome back the kids to school. This year it’s headlined by Night Moves, who play a weird and fascinating blend of mid-’70s soul with touches of L.A. canyon rock stirred into the pot. After their debut full-length Colored Emotions was released online – and quickly rescinded – last year, fans of the Minneapolis band have had to wait for an upcoming remastered version on Domino Records, which they’re celebrating with a release show at the 7th Street Entry on October 16. Tonight, you get to see them for free. Also playing: glammy garage rockers Hollow Boys and the jazzy, hip-hop-infused Electric Children. Bonus: Mesa Pizza is a sponsor. Yum! -Staff

God Damn Doo Wop Band + The Turkeltons + The Slow Death + The Blendors

@ Cause Spirits and Soundbar
3001 Lyndale Avenue S
Minneapolis

9 pm / 21+ / Tix $ TBA

It’s the return of the God Damn Doo Wop Band on Friday night at Cause – their appearances are rare these days, so this show is a reunion of sorts. The longtime locals fronted by three harmonizing ladies have a sound that is equal parts pretty and punk, playing old-school style girl-group doo-wop with a punk snarl dressed in in pretty chiffon with bad ass boots – a super fun mix of old and new sounds and attitude. Also playing are garage rockers The Turkeltons, pop punkers The Slow Death, and pop-punk cuties from The Blendours. -Danielle Morris

The rowdy rap crew Get Cryphy is back and ready for more this Friday for their regular residency at First Avenue’s Record Room. Prepare to experience the bumpin’ beats of resident DJ darlings Jimmy 2 Times, Plain Ole Bill, and Last Word as they break it down in the venue’s intimate haven. Arrive early to enjoy drink specials and partake in giveaways from Phenom and Familia, then prepare to party down. -Staff

As the Facebook invite puts it, “Hotel is a party that doesn’t quit, just like America.” The longtime dance night from DJ Jonathan Ackerman features different guests each month, with this month’s featured DJ being Slim Brit. Did we mention it’s free?! So, spend your money on the things that really count – i.e., dranks – grab your ladies and your flashy gents and get ready to bust a move. -Jahna Peloquin

Amelia Biewald is known for her ornate explorations of gothic art, often pushing the boundaries of sex and fantasy and blurring the lines between agony and ecstasy. In “Nature’s Beast,” she brings her unique sensibility to Elizabethan fashion and style, creating structural installations and mixed media pieces that explore the Victorian duality of constriction and sensuality. Her work compliments, perhaps unexpectedly well, the mixed media work of Jonas Criscoe, whose new work explores the “Beautiful Detritus” of the Deep South. His collection of pieces is a meditation on the life cycle of industry and infrastructure as they are forgotten and reclaimed by the earth, a cycle that is at once heartbreaking and hopeful. Both artists explore the old and the new, the strong and the fragile, and all with painstaking detail. The exhibition runs through September 30. -Beth Hammarlund

The ghostly figures that emerge from the depths in the work of artist Kenneth Steinbach can seem elusive, caught between apparition and disapparation (that’s only a word in Harry Potter, but whatever). That eerie quality imbues mundane objects with something slightly supernatural, and bestows a strange beauty onto the everyday items. Created by embedding up to 50 separate ink drawings in layers of resin, the works in “Still There” appear to float and shift internally as the viewer moves around them. It’s a haunting effect, and one that has to be experienced in person to be fully appreciated. Once a year Fox Tax owner Mark Fox hand-selects and curates a special show, and this year’s offering of solo work by Steinbach – a respected local artist and professor – should definitely be on your weekend itinerary. -Anthony Enright

WTF is the Babes in Bikeland. No it’s not a question = it’s a statement. By WTF we mean Women – Transgendered and Femme – make up the babes of Babes in Bikeland. Get it? A race for rookies or pros, it’s the largest alleycat race for women and trans bikers in the country. Two hundred and fifty gals gather to race 20 miles throughout the city. If you aren’t exactly a hard core racer many people join just to have fun. So put those streamers you had on your bike as a girl back up and enjoy the company. With a creative activity at every checkpoint this race doesn’t have to be all about speed. Whether you come in first or next to last after the race everyone gets together for an after party at Peacock Groove featuring DJ Petey Wheatstraw of Wants Vs. Needs and donated kegs from New Belgium Brewing. How can men get in on the action? The babes always need volunteers! -Alexandra Katz

There’s a new lit rag in town, and it ain’t your college literary publication filled with bad poetry and overshare-heavy non-fiction. Instead, the quarterly Whole Beast Rag promises the unthinkable: sexy intellectualism and provocative prose from a whole host of fledgling Twin Cities writers. Combining equal parts literary publication, scholarly journal, and culture review, the mag combines a DIY aesthetic and an appreciation for visual art. The launch party for its second issue, “EDGE,” will include readings from issue authors Sarah Combellick-Bidney, Kristin Fitzsimmons, Jared Joseph, Andrew Marzoni, Jason Spidle, Russ Woods, plus music by Sergei Finch. They’ll be joined by their friends in Our Flow Is Hard, a local collective of self-proclaimed “sticky and feathered girlpoets” whose literary series will literally shatter your preconceived notions of poetry. -Jahna Peloquin & Juleana EnrightClick HERE for Juleana Enright’s Q&A with Our Flow Is Hard’s Carrie Lorig and Whole Beast Rag’s Grace Littlefield and HERE for her followup interview with the OFIH crew in The Culturator.

Join other beer enthusiasts and drink some of the best brews Minneapolis has to offer. This event will be featuring great food, tons of live music and of course, Summit beer. Local bands will be performing, including Doomtree, Now Now, Halloween, Alaska and plenty others. Fifty percent of ticket sales will be donated to the Minnesota Music Coalition, so why not support a great cause while celebrating 26 years of Summit brews? -Chelsea Streich

Most artists have the challenge of filling a canvas, or if installation is their chosen medium they may go so far as filling an entire room. Local artist Andy DuCett is apparently not satisfied with such limited venues as his new exhibit – in collaboration with the Soap Factory – attempts to utilize the entire 12,000 square feet of space available in that venerable location. The multi-disciplinary installation “Why We Do This” incorporates video, drawing, performance and interactive elements to stitch together symbols and collective memory in an elegy of working-class aspiration. Without a directed path or linear narrative, the exhibit allows for each of the artist’s vignettes to be taken in as a “diorama” with the experience sometimes directly literal and sometimes fleeting or allusive. As befits a work of this size, there’s no lack of ambition in the ideas and themes being explored, with cultural, historical, regional and intensely personal moments embedded throughout. It’s interesting to note that the sculptural and installation medium is new to the artist, with his primary practice being in drawing. From what we’ve seen, the physicality of the medium suits DuCett’s restless creativity and comfort with ambiguity, resulting in a series of dense and though provoking pieces throughout the display. With themes of memory, industry and leisure and an abiding sense of spectacle, sentimentality and even humor, “Why We Do This” is a feast for the eyes and an artistic journey well worth taking. -Anthony Enright

Summer is coming to a close, and though the change in seasons is breaking more than a few hearts, it also calls for the crowning event of the art and social season: “Avant Garden.” The Walker Art Center’s annual benefit raises funds for its educational and artistic program, but it’s also a chance to throw on a crazy gown and dance the night away in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Gold Key guests begin the evening at six with complimentary cocktails and canapés from Modern Events by D’Amico. Silver Key holders are welcome to join the festivities at 8:30 pm for late night treats and two drink tickets. A silent auction will run from 6 to 10 pm, followed by a live auction at eight hosted by The Current’s own in-house auctioneer, Mark Wheat. Keep your eyes peeled for pieces from Alex Soth, as well as a portrait sitting with l’étoile favorite Frank Gaard. Dancing, lounging, and looking generally awesome are all encouraged, which will only be made easier with music from DJs Soviet Panda, Paper Tiger, Mike 2600, and Danny Sigelman. End the night at Le Méridien Chambers where party guests can enjoy a private bar with specialty drinks and complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Then after the after-party it’s the hotel lobby. -Beth Hammarlund

There’s no way you can beat the one-two punch of Jacques Wait and Nick Hook in Iguano, the slithery little pop band fronted by Ehsan Alam (formerly of Revolver Modele) – Wait is one of the town’s most brilliant guitarists and Hook is solid as fuck. The group’s left-of-center pop choons are heavy on new-wavey angularity and Alam’s Iggy-Pop-as-lounge-singer vocals. Headliners The Idle Hands are, of course, fantastic – you’ve heard ‘em on the radio a hundred billion times and still managed to not be sick of them, which is a magic power for sure. -Jon Hunt

BLACK’s 5 Year Anniversary Party #1: District Presents From Chicago: Transmissions

@ The Record Room at First Avenue
701 1st Avenue N
Minneapolis

10 pm / 18+ / $7

Tonight, join the electronic DJs of BLACK for the darker side of First Avenue’s Saturday dance party – and we mean literally. Named for the black walls and floor of First Avenue’s Record Room, BLACK is a weekly showcase of some of the best EDM and techno music, both local and non. This month, they’re celebrating five years all month long with a series of weekly parties. This week’s edition is curated by Aaron Litschke of District, and features an internationally-renowned, Chicago-based lineup including Submerge, Komprezzor, and Ricardo Garduno. -Juleana Enright & Jahna Peloquin

If you have been paying any attention to the local music scene in the last few years, you’ve heard of Totally Gross National Product – a record label out of Minneapolis founded in 2002 by Ryan Olson (GAYNGS, Marijuana Deathsquads) and Drew Christopherson (Marijuana Deathsquads, Poliça). TGNP has spawned some of the best and most successful acts to come out of the Twin Cities as of late, from indie (Poliça) to psychedelic (Leisure Birds) to hip hop (Spyder Baybie Raw Dawg) to an experimental one man vocoder band (Slapping Purses) and one mind bending, acid-trip, all-star super group (Marijuana Deathsquads). TGNP is at the top of the heap. Their party features many of their signed acts as well as friends and new collaborations in a full nine hours of music not to be missed. In no particular order, bands include: Marijuana Deathsquads; The Clerb (Mike Mictlan, Lizzo, La Manchita, Spyder Baybie, Slapping Purses, and 2% Muck); Tender Meat; DJ Plain Ole Bill; Slapping Purses; Leisure Birds; Andrew Broder with Crescent Moon, Mike Mitclan and Mally; Votel; Heavy Deeds; Father You See Queen; Lewis + Burnett; UMAMI; and a few more special guests that are TBA – which are sure to be good. It’s the perfect farewell-to-summer blowout. -Danielle Morris

Rocking out doesn’t always have to mean sweaty people jumping into each other, black ripped tees and long greasy hair. With elections rolling around people are rocking out for a different reason. This time around it is a celebration of democracy that is bringing people together. A block party with a theme like this definitely needs bands and plenty of them. Inside Bryant Lake Bowl and on the street there will be two bands dueling for the partiers’ attention, spanning all genres from pop to rap and everything in between even the far out. The lineup includes Mark Mallman, Heiruspecs, Silverback Colony, among others inside, plus Live Action Set, Epitome No Question and Chicks on Sticks outside. If being environmentally friendly isn’t enough for this “no waste event,” some of block party proceeds will go to assist the Bridge for Youth, a charity that aids youth and families in crisis. Doing good while having fun, doesn’t get better than that. -Alexandra Katz